


New normal

by Rosetylars



Series: Cricverse [11]
Category: Cricket RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25258282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosetylars/pseuds/Rosetylars
Summary: Ali's in media, Jimmy's grumpy, and Jos and Joe are missing each other...
Relationships: Jimmy Anderson/Alastair Cook, Jos Buttler/Joe Root
Series: Cricverse [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755766
Comments: 34
Kudos: 9





	New normal

**Author's Note:**

> To all my English friends, I'm sorry about the result! This isn't very deep, but a couple of little things in the last week inspired me to write this. Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> ***  
> Southampton, July 2020.

Alastair had been at home taking care of things on the farm when Jimmy first rejoined the England squad, to begin training ahead of the first Test against the West Indies. 

Ali was technically there for media work, but he arrived a week before the match actually began, to spend time in his second role: supportive husband. 

Ali had arrived in Southampton while the team was in the middle of a training session, so he waited for Jimmy in the hotel room. 

Jimmy texted Ali half an hour before Ali expected him, letting him know they had been asked to stay back to get their pre-series photo shoot out of the way. Ali didn’t think anything of it, trying to ignore the pang of disappointment in his chest that their reunion would be slightly delayed.

When Jimmy walked through the door, an hour and a half later, Ali’s mouth went dry. Jimmy’s hair had grown out, and it was perfectly styled. He looked - 

“Fucking sexy,” Ali marvelled aloud. 

Jimmy blushed. “Hello to you too, darling,” Jimmy chuckled, crossing the room to wrap Ali up in a hug and kiss him deeply. 

Ali hummed appreciatively, reaching up to run a hand through Jimmy’s hair. He half regretted it - it was full of product - but the length of it was delightful. 

“Is this why in the last couple of weeks you only wanted to call, not FaceTime?” Ali realised.

Jimmy laughed. “You know I hate seeing you when I can’t be with you,” he reasoned. “You like it?”

“I love it,” Ali confirmed. “Who are you, and what have you done with my husband?”

The adoration on Ali’s face melted Jimmy, and he pulled him closer for another kiss.

***  
Joe was missing the first match due to illness - it was an aggressive cold, but given the circumstances, he was asked to stay in a separate hotel for a week just to make sure it didn’t spread through the team. 

Naturally, this meant Jos was a bit lost without him, so Jimmy and Ali included him in pretty much everything they did for the week - every dinner, cafe trip, and morning walk.

It didn’t help that Joe kept calling Ali to check in on Jos… hourly.

One phone call came while Jimmy, Ali and Jos were sitting in a cosy cafe, enjoying a coffee for morning tea. Ali had a chocolate croissant, no longer having to worry about optimal match nutrition.

Ali wiped his mouth on a napkin before answering the phone. “Hello, Joseph,” he grinned, making Jos’ eyes snap up comically.

Jos was already reaching for Ali’s phone, and Jimmy levelled him with a look.

The voice coming through Ali’s phone was panicked. “Is Jos okay? He texted me the kissing emoji without the heart in its mouth so I’m worried something’s wrong,” Joe worried.

Ali couldn’t help but laugh, at that. And everyone thought he and Jimmy were bad. “I’ll ask him,” he reported, looking towards Jos, trying but failing to keep a straight face. “Jos, did you intentionally send Joe the kissy emoji without the heart, and is that a sign you’re not okay?”

Jimmy burst out laughing, but Jos looked mortified, picking up his phone to check their message history.

“What? No! Oh, let me talk to him, Ali,” Jos begged, and Ali handed over the phone. “Joey, baby, I’m so sorry, it was an accident. My finger must have slipped and selected the wrong one. Yes, everything’s okay, I’m only worried about you,” Jos assured his fiancé.

Ali tuned out their conversation, after that, shaking his head fondly at Jimmy across the table.

“Why does Joe keep calling you instead of Jos?” Jimmy asked, confused. 

Ali just rolled his eyes, unable to hide his fond smile. “So he doesn’t annoy Jos. As if Jos could ever find it within himself to feel any kind of negative emotion towards him,” Ali explained.

Jimmy huffed a laugh, nibbling on a piece of Ali’s croissant. 

***  
A few days before the first Test began, Alastair was reading the newspaper with a cup of tea, and Jimmy was laying on the bed in their hotel room.

Ali was reading an article about wildlife when Jimmy startled him with a dramatic scoff. Ali looked over, eyes wide, to see what all of the fuss was about. 

Jimmy had been reading something on his iPad, and he looked to Ali with horror. 

“What’s wrong, Jim?” Ali asked, stifling a laugh at the expression on his husband’s face. 

Jimmy gestured towards the iPad as if Ali could magically read something that was upside down, three metres away, and angled away from him. Ali just raised his eyebrows, encouraging Jimmy to explain. 

“Just got sent some document about the new rules this series. Listen to this. 'Players will not share hugs or high-fives after wickets, but elbow bumps or-' no, I can’t say it,” Jimmy declared, groaning. 

Ali was confused as to when Jimmy had stopped reading, and he frowned. “Elbow bumps or what?”

Jimmy looked at him with a pained expression before he continued to read out the leaflet. “‘Elbow bumps or dancing are encouraged,’” he read in a monotone.

Alastair burst out laughing. And then he imagined Jimmy taking a wicket and dancing to celebrate. It was so unlike him, and the mental picture was priceless. Ali couldn’t stop laughing. He could barely breathe, silent tears forming in his eyes at the idea.

“It’s not funny,” Jimmy protested weakly, unable to hide a smile at Ali’s state.

“It’s a bit funny,” Ali corrected, still beside himself with laughter.

“Can you imagine Broady and I getting up and having a bloody jig?” Jimmy deadpanned, shaking his head. “The dumbest sentence I’ve read in my life.”

Yes, Ali could imagine it, and that’s what was making him laugh so much. “I would give anything to see you celebrate with a dance,” Ali laughed.

Jimmy shook his head, rolling his eyes with a huff. “Not funny,” he declared with a pout.

Ali walked over to the bed to kiss the frown off his face, putting their disagreement to bed. 

***  
Play on day one was cut short due to rain, and Jimmy had just made a cup of coffee when a team staff member called his name, letting him know he’d been asked to go and do media. 

Jimmy grumbled under his breath, but decided to take his coffee with him, thinking of the questions they could ask and mentally preparing for them as he walked to the media wing. 

He hadn’t needed to worry. 

It wasn’t an official media engagement at all - it was just Ali, looking adorable and sexy all at once in his shirt and blazer. They were alone in one of the media offices. 

Jimmy smiled when he realised it was just the two of them, wrapping his arms around Ali and kissing his forehead. 

“The rain must have made it a pretty boring day for you,” Jimmy acknowledged. 

Ali shrugged. “It was fine. Isa introduced me as 'former England captain, Alastair Anderson' and I smiled so much my jaw hurt,” he chuckled.

Jimmy’s eyes darkened. “Pretty sure your jaw was already hurting after this morning,” he pointed out.

Ali flushed. “Hey, don’t turn me on at work,” he chastised.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Wow, you’ve changed. You used to beg me for it in the showers here-“

Alastair’s eyes widened, and he covered Jimmy’s mouth with his hand. “People could hear you!”

Jimmy didn’t look fussed, and he took Ali’s hand from his mouth, interlacing their fingers. “We’re married, Ali,” he pointed out. He changed the subject, though, pleased that he'd flustered Ali enough. “If you’re free now, I know a few boys who might love to see their old captain.”

Ali’s heart warmed, and together, they headed to the England rooms.

***  
Jimmy had barely been out of the shower for thirty seconds when Joe called him.

“Hello?”

“Ali didn’t answer my call,” Joe said without preamble. 

Jimmy frowned for a moment - Ali rarely missed calls, especially from Joe - until he remembered Ali was out for his morning run. He relayed this information to Joe.

“Oh, okay. I wish I could have gone running with him,” Joe replied, and Jimmy could hear his pout through the phone.

Jimmy sighed. “When you’re better, I’m sure Ali would love that. How are you feeling today?”

“Not as bad as I have been, but my nose is still stuffy and I have a massive headache. But don’t tell Jos. That’s why I called, actually,” Joe said.

Jimmy gave him silence to let him elaborate.

“Is Jos eating enough? I’m worried about him,” Joe continued.

Jimmy hadn’t expected that. “I… yes? I don’t exactly track his food consumption, he’s a big boy-“

“No, Jimmy, I know he’s barely sleeping - we aren’t used to sleeping apart, obviously - and normally when he’s tired he forgets to eat, and I’m so worried about him, but he keeps telling me he’s okay-“

Jimmy pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking that it should be punishable by law to separate Joe and Jos. “Joe,” he said, and when Joe kept fussing, he said it louder. “I get that you’re worried about him, but he’s just as worried about you. I’m sure if you both just make a bit more of an effort to look after yourselves, you’d have less to worry about,” Jimmy reasoned.

“But I’m more worried about him than myself,” Joe protested.

Jimmy sighed, wishing Ali were here, to talk Joe down in the way only he (aside from Jos) really could. “And he’s more worried about you than himself,” Jimmy countered. “Do you see what I’m getting at?”

“I guess,” Joe sighed.

“Just call him, Joe. I promise you’re not annoying him. Do you ever feel annoyed when he calls you?”

“What? No,” Joe replied quickly. 

“My point exactly. Look after yourself, Joe. I’ll talk to you soon.”

***  
Since his retirement, Alastair always felt a bit weird watching Jimmy play. He knew everything about Jimmy’s style so intimately; he knew how Jimmy reacted in every kind of match situation, knew how he would be feeling in any given situation, knew when he had found his perfect rhythm, line and length. 

But watching him bat was another story entirely. When Jimmy walked out to face the West Indies’ bowlers, he looked uncomfortable. He lasted six overs out in the middle with Dom, but Ali knew Jimmy would be dismissed before the ball was even out of Gabriel’s hand. 

“He’s standing too wide,” Ali mumbled to himself while his microphone was off, and half a second later, Jimmy had been bowled. 

Isa looked at him as if he were psychic, but he wasn’t - he just knew Jimmy.

***  
Later in the match, Ali was having something to eat while off air, and Joe called him up, distressed.

“Did you hear what they’re saying about Jos on the broadcast?” Joe asked him.

“What are they saying?” Ali asked, concerned.

“That he needed a bigger innings if he wanted to hold down his spot in the team, and all those sorts of comments,” Joe explained, distressed. “Do they not know what he’s going through this week?”

Ali couldn’t help but smile at Joe’s unwavering defence of his fiancé. “No, I’m sure they don’t understand. Don’t take it to heart, Joey,” he urged. 

“This is where you used to tell me that they’re paid to have an opinion, especially if it’s controversial,” Joe muttered.

Ali’s heart sank, knowing he was right. 

“Don’t worry, I get it,” Joe assured. “And I know you aren’t like some of the others. You’d never say something hurtful about us.”

“No, because I know there’s always more going on than the media knows about,” Ali agreed.

They spoke for a little while after that, until Ali was satisfied that Joe had calmed down a little. When he finally returned to his lunch, it was cold, but he didn’t mind. His boys had always come first, and always would.

***  
The match was a bit of a rollercoaster, and though the boys were disappointed to have lost, there was an overwhelming sense of relief that the first match back had been completed without any major issues.

More importantly, after the end of play on day five, Joe was cleared to rejoin the team in their hotel. 

At breakfast the following morning, Jos looked the most relaxed and content that Ali had seen him since his arrival in Southampton, now that Joe was back by his side.

Ali had a feeling the next Test would be better for his boys.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope I did these guys justice and the characterisation wasn't too far off :) hope you're all safe and well! <3 xxx


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